Mobile beam carriage assembly

ABSTRACT

A carriage assembly for supporting two or more yarn supply beams upon a standard twister machine so that either of the beams may be positioned centrally of the machine inspection rolls and guide boards such that yarn may be directed to spindles or bobbins arranged on one or both sides of the twisting machine.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,747,316 Morgan July 24, 1973 [54] MOBILE BEAM CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY 2,714,996 8/1955 Stroehman 242/58.6

2,871,650 2/1959 Kooistra 57/90 [75] Inventor Mug, Laurmburg 3,348,785 10/1967 Cooker 242/58.6 x 73 Assigneez Morgan in Incorporated, Laurel 3,433,499 3/1969 Melerhofer 1 242/58.6 X "in 3,464,196 9/1969 Baglmo et a1. 57/90 3,551,252 12/1970 Bishop et a1. 242/58.6 X [22] Filed: Sept. 7, 1971 [2]] App]. No; 178,345 Primary Examiner-Donald E. Watkins Attorney-David Rabin [52] U.S. C1 57/90, 242/54, 242/58.6,

242/79 57 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl.. D0111 13/02, DOlh 13/04, B65h 49/00 [58] Field of Search 57/34 R, 1 R, 31, A z assembly g zfi f supp y earns upon a s an ar w1s er mac me so a 57,32 242/54 79 either of the beams may be positioned centrally of the 11s and uide boards such that [56] References Cited machme mspeFton to g yarn may be dlrected to splndles or bobbms arranged UNITED STATES PATENTS on one or both sides of the twisting machine. 2,799,131 7/1957 Lemieux 57/90 X l,400,026 12/1921 Chadwick 57/75 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 5 ..1 a 1 1 22 24 20 46 a1 46 111 l 4 44 7 111 H I 32 2e 11W! 1I1|H|HH|I|| I11|1 1 111.1111 or 1''1'1 '2 -;'t 2 z I: H 1:*:: I

PATENTEI] JUL 24 iii | N V E NTOR E D WIN MOR GAN FIG.4

attorney MOBILE BEAM CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY In the manufacture of tire cord, yarn is supplied by a fiber producer to a throwster and is usually shipped wound onto a beam. Normally there are 176 or 120 ends wound onto the beam which corresponds to the number of spindles on a standard twister machine, such as Howard & Bullock or Roberts twisters, respectively. The beam is then mounted upon the twister so that individual threads are guided to twisting positions along each side of the machine. Normally the beam is mounted centrally of the twister machine such that the yarn or thread lines are symmetrical on both sides of and along the length of the machine.

A beam of this type may weigh approximately 1500 pounds and is capable of supplying the machine for at least 12 hours or more. When the yarn on the beam is substantially exhausted, the machine is automatically stopped. After stoppage of the machine to minutes or longer may elapse before the exhausted beam can be removed and a new beam can be brought from a warehouse or storage area and installed upon the machine. Thus there is a considerable loss of machine production and operator time in installing a new beam on a machine as is required using conventional procedures.

The present invention enables one or more spare full beams to be mounted upon a twister prior to the time the beam, having yarn drawn therefrom, becomes empty. This enables an operator to initiate the procedure for threading in the new beam without delay as soon as the running beam becomes empty. It also permits the empty beam to be removed and replaced by another full beam at the convenience of the beam loading personnel. An additional advantage of the invention is that it provides storage space above the twister machine for full and empty beams thus freeing the space they'would otherwise occupy in a warehouse or storage area.

Still another advantage of the invention is that the new full beams have more time to stabilize to the atmospheric conditions within the room occupied by the twister frames.

: Briefly, according to the present invention, the supply beam and the spare full beam are mounted in journals so as to rotate about the same axis. The journals are mounted upon the movable carriage which is supported by a pair of rails along which the carriage may be propelled or pushed. The rails are secured to the upper portion of a twister so that the beams are positioned about the axial center line of the twister machine above the twister feed rolls and spindles. The carriage may be locked in one of two positions so that one of the beams is positioned to supply yarns to the twister guide boards and the appropriate spindle positions.

One of the primary objects of the invention is the provision of a carriage assembly for supporting two or more yarn supply beams upon a twister machine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of apparatus for reducing machine down time by permitting an operator to initiate the threading of the new beam as soon as the running beam becomes empty.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of beam storage above the twister frames thus freeing space the beams would normally occupy in a warehouse.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent when considered in view of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, front elevational view of a twister machine having the beam carriage assembly of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the beam carriage assembly having a full beam and an empty beam positioned thereon;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, end elevational view of the beam carriage assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view, with parts being shown insection, of the carriage assembly illustrating the mechanism for driving the displaceable carriage; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, end elevational view of the rails, illustrating the mechanism for releasably securing the carriage to the rails.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawing, and particularly to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 designates a conventional twister machine having a series of feed rolls l2 and rotating bobbins 14 positioned on each side of the twister supported by frame 16.

The individual yarns 18 to be twisted are drawn from a supply beam over one of the inspection rolls 20, one roll being positioned normally on each side of and centrally of the twister, through a series of guides 22 on a guide board 24 and to the feed rolls 112.

The beam carriage assembly 26 is supported on a series of members 28 extending transversely of the machine frame, the members 28 being mounted upon a support plate 30 at the top of the twister 10. Positioned centrally and extending longitudinally of the machine 10 are a pair of spaced, generally U-shaped rails 32. The rails 32 are mounted in opposed relation to each other, as shown by FIGS. 3 and 5, to receive a carriage 34 thereon. The carriage 34 includes elongated members 36 maintained in spaced relation by a plurality of transversly extending members 38. The members 36, 38 are supported by wheels 40, one pair at each end of the carriage, which are rotatably secured to the axles 42 extending through members 36. The wheels 40 are captive within the rails 32 and are flanged to insure good tracking and free rolling.

Secured intermediate the carriage members 36 are upstanding supports 44 having journals 46 for receiving and retaining the shafts 48 of beams B. The supports 44 preferably are of hollow construction. One of the hollow supports 44 houses a portion of a drive arrangement for driving one pair of wheels 40 for propelling the carriage along the rails 32. The drive arrangement includes a hand crank 50 adapted to be coupled to a shaft 52 supported by member 44 adjacent the upper portion thereof. The shaft 52 drives a shaft 54, rotatably mounted by the members 36 of carriage 34, through a chain 56 and sprocket 58 and 60 which are secured to shafts 52 and 54, respectively. One pair of wheels 40, 40 are driven from shaft 54 by chain 62 and sprockets 64 and 66 which are fixed to shafts 54 and 42, respectively. To prevent the carriage 34 from running out of the ends of the rails 32, stop members 68 are secured to the rails for engaging the outermost wheels 40. I

Located approximately in the middle of the carriage 34 and secured to one of the supports 44 is a plate 70 in which is drilled a hole 72, FIG. 5, which matches with a corresponding hole 74 in one of the rails 32. By displacing the carriage 34 to align the holes 72, 74, a pin 76 may be inserted through the holes for locking the carriage in the desired position relative to the rails 32, inspection roll 20, and thread board 24. Two spaced holes 74 are provided in one of the rails 32 for locking the carriage in the full line position of FIG. 1 or the position of FIG. 2.

The inspection roll 20 and guide board 24 are supported by a pair of arms 78 pivotable at 80 about brackets 82 secured to the fixed rails 32. A pair of arms 84 are pivotably secured to arms 78 and have hooks 86 on the ends thereof which are adapted to engage pins 88 secured to supports 44. By supporting the inspection rolls 20 and thread boards 24 in this manner, they may be pivoted out of the way when the carriage 34 is moved along the rails 32.

In the operation of the beam carriage assembly 32, yarn is unwound from a supply beam, over the inspection rolls and thread boards, one of each being mounted on each side of the machine, onto the bobbins 14 as shown by FIG. 1. When the running beam B becomes substantially exhausted, the machine is stopped and the threads cut intermediate the beam and the thread board 24. The cut ends are temporarily tied to prevent the ends between the thread boards and the spindles from becoming entangled. The inspection rolls and thread boards are then pivoted downwardly.

The lock pin 76 is removed and the carriage 34 propelled by hand crank 50 to the position of FIG. 2 such that the new full beam B is located adjacent the inspection rolls 20 and thread boards 24 in the yarn feeding position. The empty beam, FIG. 2, is then in a'position to be lifted off the supports 44 and replaced by a new full beam at some convenient time.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding yarns from a supply beam to the bobbins of a twister machine comprising a support frame mounted upon and extending longitudinally of said machine, a mobile carriage displaceable longitudinally of said support frame, said carriage including means for supporting a plurality of beams thereon, and means for selectively positioning said beam supporting means relative to said support frame to locate a beam for delivering yarn to the bobbins.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, and further including means for propelling said carriage relative to said support frame.

3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said beam supporting means includes a plurality of vertically disposed supports having shaft receiving journals at the upper ends thereof.

4. Apparatus as recited in claim 3, said vertically disposed supports being positioned such that beams mounted thereon are axially aligned.

5. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, and further including an inspection roll and a yarn guide board provided on each side of the machine, the beam having yarn drawn therefrom being located adjacent thereto.

6. Apparatus as recited in claim 5, said inspection rolls and guide boards being pivotably mounted upon said support frame.

7. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said selectively positioning means including a lock member adapted to be inserted through aligned openings in said carriage and said support frame.

8. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said support frame including a pair of opposed, generally U-shaped rail members.

9. Apparatus as recited in claim 8, said carriage including a plurality of wheels adapted to roll along said rail members.

10. Apparatus as recited in claim 8, and further including means secured to said members for limiting displacement of said carriage. 

1. Apparatus for feeding yarns from a supply beam to the bobbins of a twister machine comprising a support frame mounted upon and extending longitudinally of said machine, a mobile carriage displaceable longitudinally of said support frame, said carriage including means for supporting a plurality of beams thereon, and means for selectively positioning said beam supporting means relative to said support frame to locate a beam for delivering yarn to the bobbins.
 2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, and further including means for propelling said carriage relative to said support frame.
 3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said beam supporting means includes a plurality of vertically disposed supports having shaft receiving journals at the upper ends thereof.
 4. Apparatus as recited in claim 3, said vertically disposed supports being positioned such that beams mounted thereon are axially aligned.
 5. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, and further including an inspection roll and a yarn guide board provided on each side of the machine, the beam having yarn drawn therefrom being located adjacent thereto.
 6. Apparatus as recited in claim 5, said inspection rolls and guide boards being pivotably mounted upon said support frame.
 7. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said selectively positioning means including a lock member adapted to be inserted through aligned openings in said carriage and said support frame.
 8. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said support frame including a pair of opposed, generally U-shaped rail members.
 9. Apparatus as recited in claim 8, said carriage including a plurality of wheels adapted to roll along said rail members.
 10. Apparatus as recited in claim 8, and further including means secured to said members for limiting displacement of said carriage. 